


Seeing Red in the Twilight Zone

by silentflight



Category: Homestuck
Genre: Deep Ocean, M/M, Marine Biology, Mermaidstuck, Merman!Karkat, Mermen, Merstuck, Slow Burn, mermanstuck, slow burn?
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-04-25
Updated: 2018-04-25
Packaged: 2019-04-27 21:54:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,027
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14434875
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/silentflight/pseuds/silentflight
Summary: After a string of unfortunate happenings to his poor robot, Dirk Strider decides that enough is enough. Descending into the deep sea, where little to no light can reach, he finds himself in way over his head.Approximately 3,281 feet above his head.





	1. Chapter 1

Your name is Dirk Strider, and you are absolutely fucking vexed by a stupid fish. A fish you’ve never actually gotten a good glimpse at.  
The first time this happened, it smashed the camera. Nothing that couldn’t be fixed, as annoying as it had been. Second time, something engulfed the robot in a deep red glow, and squeezed until the watertight back panel popped off. Again, nothing too horrible, as you had all the data collected in a second watertight chamber, just in case.  
No matter what you did, you couldn’t figure out what the hell was happening. You had shown what little footage you had of the thing to everyone in the laboratory, the office, the biology department…. The most you got was a shrug, and “gulper eel maybe?” How fucking informative.

This time, though, it was far worse. Your patience was being tested beyond capacity, as the creature seemed to tease you with the slightest hints of red and white in the edges of the frame. Next thing you knew, your life’s work, the creation you were proudest of, the robot you had named (Halcyon) like it was your goddamned son, was destroyed. The screen went black as it was crushed in the hold of something far too strange to explain. For a split second, you were sure you saw a human face.  
All those late nights simply couldn’t be good for you.

Reviewing the mussed up tapes, looking over the damage done to your probe (recovering it cost a lot of goddamn money, mind you,) you shook your head. You wondered if Egbert over in biology was playing tricks on you. Those tricks weren’t funny at all, and he no doubt knows that. Still, John was kind-hearted. You didn’t think he’d destroy your most prized and loved creation, even if you did eat his leftovers that one time.  
Anyway, back to the tapes. Everything was blurry. You saw something that looked vaguely like an arm. As far as you knew, there were no bioluminescent, deep sea reptiles. As amazingly and astonishingly awesome as that would be.  
In your haze of frustration, you almost missed the only clear shot of the film. Scrambling to rewind the tape and pause in just the right place, your eyes fixed on something you’d never seen before. Hell, something nobody had ever seen before.

It was beautiful. A long, winding tail. White and freckled with glowing red, fins all down the sides in the same vibrant color. It was unlike anything you had ever seen before. Breath escaped from your nose in a drawn out exhale. For a while, you were stunned. Left to ponder over what this beautiful thing could possibly be.  
A little bit later, and you were calling John over to come look at it. John just stared blankly.

“I have no clue.” He said, scratching the top of his head. “Absolutely no idea. Maybe a mutated eel? Or a vampire squid?”  
You rolled your eyes.  
“It's always the vampire squid, isn't it? Colossal squid, whatever. It's always a goddamn squid. John, there is no way in hell that this thing is a squid!”   
John held his hands up defensively, taking a little step back. “I'm just saying. A lot of things down there are red. Lots of red things.”  
“Oh shut up. Listen, I need to get on the next deep-sea expedition and find that thing. I need to see it. I need to know what it is.”  
John sighed heavily, squeezing the bridge of his nose between his fingers, briefly displacing his glasses before letting his hand slide down his face.   
“Don't go Moby Dick on me, man…. Fine. I'll talk to Jane, and see what she can do for you. There should be an opening on the next vessel for a mechanic, after Roxy transferred to mission control.”  
Dirk did his best to wrap his arms around John, though with his build, it was remarkably difficult. John patted his back with a heavy hand, then pushed him back to his desk.  
“Now go back to drooling over the damn squid.”


	2. Schloop

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> No. No spoilers. You have to read it, fiends.

Jane sure had worked her magic. Within weeks, you were set as the submarine’s mechanic. It was a cramped little thing, but not intolerably so. Just a little more elbow brushing than you would've liked.   
Given how strong the creature you were searching for was, it was pretty likely that it could damage the vessel. The team assured you otherwise, but there was still a sinking feeling in your gut at the thought. Despite the high tech nature of it, there was still a mighty high chance that something could go wrong, and you could die. You weren't sure if you were ready for that, but, as the fish passed by you during your descent, you realized that you didn't have a choice anymore. Your gut twisted as you recalled looking over Halcyon’s wrecked and rumpled hull… sent shivers down your spine.

Although they weren't really supposed to, you could feel your ears pop. Quickly, you checked over the internal pressure, only to find it fine. Well, that was a waste of time.

With your head swimming in useless anxieties over how the fuck you got here anyway (you begged John, looking back. Normally all you’d have to do was give a pleading look. This time, you actually had to speak. What the fuck?)  
You just decided to tightly shut your eyes, and wait until you and the crew were doused in the velvety darkness, where the last sliver of light disappeared. Complete blackness.  
Jake reached over to flick the lights on. Oh, he's here. Right. Shit, how many people was this?  
The mechanic, (you); John, the Marine biologist; Jake, the photographer, and Jane, the pilot. It was awfully crammed in here. At least there were a few portholes littered throughout the main cabin. You weren't supposed to be here for too long, two days at the absolute most. Oxygen was brought for four, in case of an emergency. You really hoped that you wouldn't need it.  
Scuba gear wasn't packed, because if you left the vessel you would absolutely fucking die. No point in having air when you're being squished like a grape by the crushing weight of a metric fuckton of water. 

Wow. You really wish you hadn't thought about that. Now all that's really on your mind is the really real realization that you could definitely die down here. It seemed distant at first. A thought nagging in the back of your head, tapping your nerves with small shocks of “what if”. You felt like you were going to puke, mind racing, head screaming as you stared blankly at your hands. That is, until you were snapped out of your trance by a gentle nudge.

“Dirk, oh my god, look at that!” Someone said. You weren't sure if it was John or Jake, but it sure was one of them.  
When you lifted your head, you noticed a jellyfish floating by. It was cute. All rippling rainbows of soft light, glowing a dim green because of the light cast upon it. It made you feel a warm relief. Things lived down here. Gorgeous, gorgeous things. You rested your head on your palms, smiling faintly as it pulsed along. You could just imagine the cute noise it would make, if it were a cartoon. “Schloop, schloop, schloop”. Yeah, that. That's nice.

Abruptly, you were snapped out of your soothed little trance. The jellyfish was gone, a flicker of red at the top of the viewport. Jane, Jake, and John all sat there, eyes wider than anything Dirk had ever seen before. A chill ran down everyone’s spine when there was the horrid sound of claws raking over metal at the top of the ship.   
That was it. You're definitely going to fucking die down here. You're going to die and there’s nothing you can do about it and- oh god fucking damn it that’s a vampire squid. It had just come back into view. 

You relaxed, slumping down in your chair and going over the status of the vessel. No real damage, no breach, it was fine.  
That is, until you heard a huge clunk above your head. Now, normally, that'd be okay. Just the squid again.  
Problem was, the squid was right there in front of you.

And the monitor displaying the camera footage had gone black.


	3. Sketch

Your heart is racing so fucking hard right now. You can feel it hammering in your chest, blood rushing in your ears as everyone in the cabin goes tense and silent and still- the total deprivation of any sensory input aside from sight was absolutely maddening. It made your head spin.

John was the first to shatter the silence.  
“What... The hell…... Was that.” He breathed out, though deep down he knew what it was. Undoubtedly, that was what had damaged the robot beyond repair.

Not to jump to conclusions, but, well…

The submarine suddenly rocked to one side, and Jane frantically brought it back into position. She looked over her shoulder, bright blue eyes wide with her anxiety. She looked back to you. Your fingers went flying over buttons and controls, bracing for another rock or slam against the sides.  
But there was nothing. Absolutely nothing.

Everyone let out the breath they had been holding, and Jake smacked his face on the dashboard just to give him something to ground himself with. John was wiping the sweat off his brow. 

You began to stare out the window again, letting your tensed up, aching hands relax. Swear to God, you're gonna have severe carpal tunnel at age twenty six. As if all the typing wasn't enough to fuck 'em u-Holyshitwhatthefuck

Your eyes suddenly focused on something, that was staring right back at you. Its large, glowing eyes a bright red, two razor sharp slits in its pupils. You jump back as it presses its... Hands? Against the glass. In your moment of amazement, you flap your arm over and smack Jake in the arm, and he stares too.  
Red freckles dot the creature’s face, with larger spotlights under its eyes and across where its brows would be.  
You feel like your breath has been stolen right out of your lungs, and it has nothing to do with the oxygen levels. You hear John’s furious sketching right beside you, and when you look back at the thing, its pupils dilate.  
It… Slowly licks the glass. Next thing you know, it’s swimming up over the submarine, and you take note of the shape of its body. A bit short, though quite cute. Fins all over the place, and a… Stomach? That had some glowing substance floating around in it. The creature had fins all over its sides, and the movement of its tail was languid and slow. Almost like a ribbon.

John looked absolutely amazed. He looked down at his sketchbook, then back up.  
“We didn't get any of that on video, did we?” He asked, chewing on his lower lip, running a hand through his dark hair.  
“No, we didn't.” You replied, shutting your eyes tightly.  
“I don't think we can tell anyone about this without evidence.” Jane murmured, and Jake agreed with her.  
“They’ll think we’ve all gone off our rockers from the trip.” Jake added. “The concept is absolutely absurd.” 

The lights went dark. The cabin was velvet-black again. You rubbed your eyes and bumped your head back against the seat.  
“Look, let's just blindly collect soil samples, and surface for repairs. Maybe we have to disguise the cameras so that thing doesn't eat it.” You watched as Jane piloted the vessel towards the bottom, had the canister scoop up soil, and then the ascent began. It was mostly boring, and you didn't see the creature again.  
At least, with your eyes, anyway. Visions of its elegant form traveled through your head, its far-too-human face, its large eyes…  
Despite the immense terror it had subjected you to, you couldn't wait to see it again.  
John, beside you, was still drawing. He had grabbed a red pen, adding dots to his frantic sketch.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> having trouble embedding images. here's the link:  
> https://farm1.staticflickr.com/828/40837634035_0cd86d15a7_b.jpg  
> there's John's sketch.


End file.
